Friday, September 17, 2010

Finally! I finished my secret project I have been working on that involves that light kit I got from Ikea I've been talking about for the past 2 weeks. I decided that it was time to replace my star lamp that I wired long long ago:

I still like it and will probably find another home for it but I have been itching to make a light out of one of these:

I know what you're thinking- wine bottles again! What is the deal with this girl? Well I ended up with quite a few of them after I made my wine glasses and citronella candles; I told everyone I knew to save their wine bottles for me and I now have a pretty good collection. So I had to do something with them!

So I came up with this:

Like them? I love them! They are my new favorite project I have done. Want to make some of your own? You can!

First I soaked my wine bottles in warm soapy water to take the labels off. Then taped off a section on the bottom and drew a straight line along the tape. This indicates the line I am going to cut along.

Next I was ready to cut. (Remember to wear safety goggles and a mask!) Using the Cutting Wheel of my Dremel I cut along the line I had drawn on the tape.

Take your time and let the tool do the work. If you apply to pressure you'll just wear down the Diamond Cutting Wheel faster, but you won't make your progress any quicker. (Trust me I tried!)

Making some progress! I like to keep the tape on the whole time to keep any glass shards in check. Also remember to periodically dip the Dremel in water and spray some on the glass to keep both from getting to hot. The Dremel can over heat and the glass could crack if not.

Yay success!! Next you'll use the Grinding Bit for the Dremel to smooth out any rough edges.

Once your are done with this step you can use the polishing bit to make the edge extra smooth and shiny. Once your all done it's time for wiring! I had 2 different wiring kits, the one from Ikea and the one I already had. I was hoping I could just slip the plug through the neck of the bottle and be done with it but the plug is to wide, so it was off to plan B (and C). The wiring kits were different so I had to use two different ways of wiring the bottles.

For the first one I was able to take the light housing apart, being sure to keep everything in the same order. Once I had it all apart I just ran the wire through the neck of the bottle, then put the housing back together.

Once it was run through I tied a knot in the wire so the bulb would hang inside the bottle in the position I wanted.

For the Ikea light kit I couldn't figure out how to take the housing apart, so I had to resort to other measures. I had bought a wireable plug from Home Depot and used that.

To attach the wire to the new plug, I had to cut the old one off. Then I ran the wire through the neck of the bottle.

Then just run the wire through the slot of the plug and snap it closed. Done, easy! Now you're ready to light it up!

I love the light they give off! (I'll have to paint the wire the same color as the wall this weekend!)

A few close ups:

And one shot of them off:

So what do you think? Do think this is something you would want to make?

Rachelle - What a fabulous idea! I love the look. This would make such a great gift for a couple of wine enthusiasts that I know! Thanks so much for linking up. Hope you have a wonderful week. ~ Stephanie Lynn